Old Riverview firehall becomes Chocolate River Station
Published Thursday January 29th, 2009
Renovation of complex, to house retailers and eateries, expected to be completed by July 1
By Eric Lewis
Times & Transcript Staff
Riverview's long-discussed and long-awaited Fundy Gateway project finally has a name.
This is an artist rendering of the Chocolate River Sations. And while it was once the Riverview Fire Station, 391 Coverdale Rd. will soon be the Chocolate River Station.
The town's chief administrative officer and manager David Muir confirmed the new name yesterday and put a timeline on the project, which has been talked about or been in the works for the better part of a decade.
Renovation of and an extension to the town's former fire hall are set to begin in the next week or so, with an expected completion date of June 1, as long as there are no more bumps in the road for the $2.75-million project.
It comes at a perfect time too, Muir notes, since the federal government said in its budget announcement this week that money would be given to the province to work on completion of the Fundy Trail Parkway.
The Parkway should bring more tourists into this region of the province, which will only further benefit Riverview's new tourism venture.
"Absolutely," Muir says, when asked if this means bigger and better things for Riverview's own project. "We always thought we would try to capitalize on (being at one end of the Parkway)."
For years the Chocolate River Station had been referred to as the Fundy Gateway project; Riverview is indeed a gateway into the national park and other Albert County tourist attractions, including the Hopewell Rocks.
Muir says the town hopes to "siphon" tourists into the town and into the new attraction.
The Gateway project dates back nearly 10 years, and it's one Riverview council has been waiting a long time to see come to fruition.
Perhaps Ward 2 Councillor Ian MacDonald expressed council's sentiments best on Monday night at a council meeting.
"Git 'er done!" MacDonald said after council awarded Moncton's Rice Contracting the tender to complete renovations and construction of the extension.
Mayor Clarence Sweetland offered similar thoughts on the project.
"It's been a long time coming," he said this week, excitement on his face and a little relief in his voice. "There was a lot of planning and a lot of work."
Over the coming weeks, more of the prospective tenants of Chocolate River Station will be making themselves known, Muir says.
St-Anne-de-Kent soap maker Olivier Soapery was announced several years ago as the anchor outlet in the Gateway project, and yesterday another business confirmed it would take up shop in the Station.
Rocky Mountain Maple, a maple sugar company based in Hillsborough, will open a retail outlet in Chocolate River Station, owner David Briggs says.
"I'm excited for it," he said yesterday. "It's a whole new venture for us."
Rocky Mountain Maple has been in business in Stilesville for 10 years, but maple sugar processing has been in the Briggs family for five generations.
Opening a retail outlet is the next logical step.
Briggs says the operation will have a museum-like atmosphere and will showcase processing of all kinds of maple products, including maple butter, cream, syrup and candy.
Displays showcasing family history and maple syrup history will be a part of the store.
Other food will be on sale as well, and there will be chocolate elements in the store to build on the theme of the entire Chocolate River Station.
Briggs is excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, and he says Chocolate River Station is like "nothing else in this area."
Muir says it is expected that all of the tenants of the development will take a hands-on approach to their businesses, providing demonstrations and seminars of their products to really give people a feel for the culture of the region.
Albert County artists will have room to showcase and sell their products in the building, and a boardwalk outside, housing a number of small kiosks, is expected to create a market-like atmosphere in the summer.
A restaurant or food court will take up the second floor of the old fire hall, and a tourism office, operated by the town and promoting the entire Fundy region, will be housed in the building.
It would only make sense, with a name like Chocolate River Station, that a chocolatier set up shop in the building and indeed, one has been mentioned in the past as a possible tenant.
Muir could not confirm this yesterday however, and calls to famed New Brunswick chocolate maker Ganong, based in St. Stephen, were not returned yesterday afternoon.
A piece of land that once housed an Esso gas station next to the old firehall will serve as a parking lot for vehicles and buses, with plenty of room for tour buses to turn around and manoeuvre.
Imperial Oil still owns the old Esso land and refused to sell it to the town, but they were happy to arrange a long-term lease agreement with Riverview to allow for a parking lot to be built.
The entire project is expected to cost $2.75 million. The federal government, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, has committed $1 million to the project, and Mayor Sweetland is hopeful the province will also support the project through funding as well.
The town already owns the old firehall building and the land it sits on, which isn't included in the $2.75-million price tag.
In all, Sweetland expects the town's share will be about $1.5 million, on top of the land and building. And the town will own it all when the project is finished.
"We're putting in about a $1.5 million, and we're coming away with an asset that's worth about $3 million, so that's not a bad deal," he says.
Personal note; Is it just me or does every time they post a new picture in the paper about this development, it looks different. 
Prev
Linear Mode
